The Hyena's crew had amassed a fortune of over five million Belly over the years. Combined with his recent haul, Bellamy now possessed around ten million Belly. In the North Blue, in Neon Town, this was a considerable sum. He could buy a brand-new, small sailing ship outright with that kind of money.
But Bellamy had other plans.
The black market.
In the age of piracy, any human settlement with a population over ten thousand was almost guaranteed to have a black market outpost. Hyena, having started as a petty thug, was naturally very familiar with it. It was essential for dealing in stolen goods, and Hyena's favorite pastime had been robbing others of their treasured possessions.
The last remaining problem Hyena had left him was related to a particular treasure. The item itself had long been sold off, and the family it had been stolen from was just a small, declining noble house. If that were all, Bellamy wouldn't have considered it much of a problem. However, this particular family was… special. They had some connection to the "D" clan, and their family name was far from ordinary.
"The Will of D, huh?" A shadow passed over Bellamy's eyes. The original owner of this body really knew how to pick his targets. Having crossed paths, let alone conflicted, with such a family… this wasn't a problem easily dealt with. The possibility of CP involvement was high. For the time being, Bellamy decided to shelve the issue and wait for a more opportune moment to probe further.
Hands in his pockets, Bellamy swaggered into the black market. His arrogant demeanor drew a lot of attention. A stranger walking like that in the black market would usually be in for a rough time. Unfortunately for any would-be aggressors, most of the people here knew him.
Bellamy strolled around for a while, but no one dared approach him.
He walked down the main street of the black market, carefully observing the surrounding buildings. This particular black market was located near the edge of Neon Town, close to the garbage dump. Dilapidated buildings, a filthy environment, and an overall air of decay permeated the area.
Several emaciated slaves were tied up carelessly in front of shops. This was the black market, after all: the openly illegal slave trade was commonplace here.
An old woman, gaudily dressed, leaned against a railing, listlessly yawning. She was the black market's madam, and Bellamy knew she also dabbled in human trafficking. Many of the missing girls in town had disappeared because of her.
One shop, lavishly decorated, seemed to be holding a promotional sale. It was both a tobacco shop and a drug den, the wealthiest and most well-connected establishment in Neon Town.
"I don't like this place."
But black markets wouldn't simply vanish because he willed it. Right now, he was just a nameless thug.
Bellamy found the information broker and began purchasing what he needed. Information on Muret's brother's illness, details on skilled crew members, reports on the wild tigers in the mountains…
In total, he spent over three million Belly, obtaining the information he sought. Fully resolving these issues would require more effort, but with this intel, it was only a matter of time.
"Also, post a bounty for hunters to go into the mountains and kill the tigers."
After posting the request, Bellamy turned and left the black market. He disliked the place, intensely.
Late at night, at the dojo.
Bellamy had specifically chosen this time because he'd had a sudden idea about the Spring-Spring Fruit and wanted to test it out. Doing it during the day would draw too much attention.
Standing in the center of the front courtyard, Bellamy took a deep breath and slowly crouched down.
Spring Jump.
Compress, exert force, and jump.
Three simple steps. The instant he released the built-up spring force, his body shot into the sky like a rocket. He estimated he'd jumped at least twenty meters high.
Would falling from this height kill him? He was a Spring-Spring man. To kill him with a fall, you'd probably need at least a thousand meters.
As expected, the instant he hit the ground, the terrifying impact and the resulting reactive force were instantly transferred to his body. But within the blink of an eye, these forces were completely neutralized and absorbed by the spring force within him. Then, his legs, like compressed springs, rapidly flattened.
"This is…!"
Seeing his legs flattened into paper-thin sheets, Bellamy immediately realized that this was another characteristic of springs: deformation. The force of the fall from a great height, counteracted by the spring force within his body, had caused him, the Spring-Spring man, to be crushed and deformed under the immense pressure.
The next step, naturally, would be to rebound to his original shape.
But Bellamy wouldn't let that happen. If he allowed all that accumulated force to explode at once, he'd likely be launched several hundred meters into the sky.
"Split!"
Before all that force could be unleashed, Bellamy swiftly grabbed his flattened legs and ripped them apart.
Whoosh!
His two legs shot out like bullets, disappearing in an instant. Bellamy heard a series of crashes, but didn't bother to look. He could imagine dojo walls were showing some new holes, all thank to his legs.
Two breaths later, his spring-legs returned with incredible speed.
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
The returning spring-legs rattled Bellamy's brain with a series of clattering sounds. The technique was powerful, but difficult to control, and he wasn't fond of it.
"This kind of move is useless in actual combat. It's less effective than a simple spring-powered dash."
However, the experiment had been a success. At the very least, it had clarified another characteristic of the Spring-Spring Fruit: deformation.
Bellamy looked at his hands, proactively experimenting with this new ability. After a while, his fingers began to bend and change, eventually taking the shape of a spring.
"I can control my body's deformation. The Spring-Spring Fruit's potential is definitely not inferior to the Gum-Gum Fruit."